The new watch manufactory Moritz Grossmann in Glashütte / Saxony in Germany

Before presenting you the manufactory in details I will today start by letting you discover two new Moritz Grossmann watches.

I visited Moritz Grossmann today and I have to admit that I was quite surprised. I did not expect to discover such a sophisticated manufactory. The vertical range and the level at which the people at Moritz Grossmann work are impressing. During my visit I shot a lot of pictures that will give you a god impression of what is going on. I will also unveil the history of Moritz Grossmann (1826 – 1885) the founder of his Glashütte manufacture and of the German School of Watchmaking. And I will present you CEO Christine Hutter, the spiritus rector – the driving force – behind the entire project. Christine is that what I would call a power woman and a real mover and shaker.

The picture shows you Christine, today in here office in Glashütte

Christine Hutter

Please note that what I saw today was the yesterday officially opened manufactory building in Glashütte. The brand itself is already active since 2010. A first watch, the Benu, was already presented before. It was also assembled and made in Glashütte but not yet under one roof. Moritz Grossmann was spread al over the little town of Glashütte in Saxony / Germany

This is the new manufactory building …

But before all that you are the very first to discover the brand new watches Atum and Benu Gangreserve (power reserve) presented today. They are entirely hand-made at Moritz Grossmann.

The superb functionality of the Atum is reflected in its subtly balanced aesthetic appeal. The movement is embedded in a three-part precious-metal case with a slender bezel. The applied markers with polished chamfers clearly contrast against the solid-silver dial. The subsidiary seconds dial above the “6” is recessed, so that the hands can hover tightly over the crisply defined minute scale. The hands are manually fashioned in the manufacture – a rare artisanal process in modern watchmaking – and are endowed with a lance shape as well as broad chamfers to match the three-dimensionality of the hour markers. Each hand is meticulously tempered and ground to achieve a sharp, elongated tip. The color of the hands is chosen in the interest of maximum contrast against the base color of the dial: Shiny stainless steel hands match the dark dials while flame-annealed steel hands are the perfect complement for all brighter dials. Brown, an unusual color for steel, is the result of a carefully timed annealing process that needs to be stopped with one-second accuracy.

Several innovations in the movement of the Atum are noteworthy in the ways they optimize its user-friendliness and functional reliability. The Grossmann balance, a newly conceived oscillator, is crafted in-house in its entirety. The manual Grossmann winder with pusher incorporates a perfected hand setting mechanism. And the remodified Glashütte stopwork allows the components to be flexibly configured.

Caliber 100.1 movement

The caliber 100.1 movement of the Atum can be admired through the ample, non- reflective sapphire-crystal display back. Subtly proportioned components in untreated German silver with different types of finissage constitute the individual levels of the pillar movement.

The signature is hand-engraved into the characteristic 2/3 plate decorated with wide horizontal ribbing. The circular cutout of the plate reveals the new Grossmann balance for the first time. It is carried by the cantilevered, hand-engraved balance cock with the typical micrometer screw. The Atum also embodies all the hallmarks and underlying values of a classically crafted timepiece signed Moritz Grossmann Glashütte I/Sa.

• Pillar movement with 2/3 plate and frame pillars in untreated German silver

The caliber 100.1 movement is the first to incorporate the newly designed oscillator. Optimized for artisanal manufacturing techniques, the ingenious design of the Grossmann balance improves the adjustability of inertia and achieves high kinetic energy combined with minimized air resistance and the smallest possible mass. The number of screws in the balance wheel rim was minimized, and the bores in the rim are equidistant. This makes it possible to vary the moment of inertia by inserting mass screws with different head lengths in the bores. The smooth cylindrical balance staff is integrated in the hub and can easily be replaced if necessary. The Grossmann balance is paired with a Nivarox 1 balance spring that is overcoiled with a quarter arc on the inside and secured to the slotted roller with a brass pin

The manual Grossmann winder with pusher

The watchmakers at Grossmann addressed the requirements imposed on a manually wound watch by focusing on improved convenience and greater functional reliability. The Grossmann winder with pusher features a refined handsetting mechanism that eliminates two possible error sources: the ingress of particles into the case while the hands are being set and the unintentional alteration of the hand positions while the crown is being pushed home again. When the user briefly pulls the winding crown out, the winder switches to the handsetting mode and simultaneously stops the movement. The crown immediately returns to its home position but can now be turned to precisely set the hands. Afterwards, the movement is restarted with the pusher adjacent to the winding crown without altering the positions of the hands. At the same time, the mechanism switches back to the winding mode. A modified Glashütte stopwork secures the tension of the mainspring. After winding, it allows the ratchet wheel to reverse somewhat and slightly relax the mainspring. With the launch of the caliber 100.1 movement in the Atum, Grossmann’s watchmakers introduced an optimized, space-saving variation of this recoil. The stop click sits on a lever that pivots about the center of the mainspring barrel and accommodates the backlash stroke.

The new Moritz Grossmann Glashütte I/Sa Atum watch …

Since 2010, the name Benu has epitomized the revival of the Moritz Grossmann Glashütte I/Sa brand. As the young manufacture’s first manually wound watch, the Benu embodies the horological passion of Moritz Grossmann, the elegance of his precision measuring instruments, and the conceptual aspirations of the watchmakers at Grossmann in the 21st century. Their ambition is to meld micromechanical ingenuity and traditional artisanship with latest-generation technology in the form of exclusive masterpieces of precision watchmaking.

Persistent renewal and improvement are part of the Grossmann heritage. The movement of the first Benu already incorporated genuine innovations. Now, in 2013, the Benu Gangreserve (power reserve) stands out with four additional breakthroughs that refine user-friendliness and functional reliability.

The power-reserve indicator

As was the case in Glashütte observation watches, the Benu features a compactly designed crown-wheel differential train beneath the ratchet wheel. In this train, the rotary motion that occurs when the movement is wound or the mainspring unwinds is transferred to a carrier arbor with a planetary wheel. The display segment, one part white, the other red, is positioned above the hour wheel. A spring presses the hour wheel against its collar and the display segment against the dial; this stabilizes both parts without affecting their rotation.

Calibre 100.2 movement

The calibre 100.2 movement of the Benu Gangreserve (power reserve) is the familiar classic Benu-style pillar movement with a 2/3 plate, cantilevered balance cock, and the typical Grossmann micrometer screw. The Benu Power reserve unites the traditional characteristics of Grossmann-style horological prowess with modern watchmaking elements and the hallmarks of the new brand:

• Pillar movement with 2/3 plate and frame pillars in untreated German silver

The building looks better than the actual watches. They don’t really look bad but who needs another brand without any real innovation. What do these watches offer which you can not find somewhere else? The pusher for time setting? Not sure that adding a pusher to a simple manual wound watch can/should be called an improvement. Did anybody ever had any problem with its hand-wound watch and said “hope someone will solve this one day”. PP once patented (over 100 years ago) the setting by the “crown only” and now MG introduces the use of the pusher again. Isn’t it funny?!

Super classic look with craftsmanship to match. nearly all high end watches are taking shortcuts with finishing and quality. and the setting is not at all like the old pusher setting system if you read the article first before grousing about it you would see from a technical standpoint how sweet this watch is.

The watches are very nice and I’m sure out side of my immediate budget.

However, being an architect I had to comment about the building. In a word, oustanding. Conteporary with no illussions of a traditional look. Nothing incincern or fake about it. I wish company owners and architect insisted on such nicely designed buildings that look toward the future buttha is a rarity in the US. The fact that the watches are somewhat of a classic nature defies the moderness of the building. It is something unmexpected.